Can I have some feedback on my selection of funds please

srcandas

Something I find curious - in general and not specifically aimed at you jonj - is one often sees lists of funds but almost never a strategy statement.

I'll give an example:

I think the global economy could be in for a bad crash, but not total destruction(30% chance).
I feel the far east will drive the recovery as dependance on Europe and the US diminishes.
I feel the increasing populations moving out of poverty will demand manufactured goods and there will be increased demand for natural resources.
I feel equities will be topsy turvy for sometime and therefore fundwise I will be bond heavy and look to make quick profits wave riding individual shares.

Totally ignoring if that is a good, average, bad or terrible strategy my investments in funds and share pool reflect that.

Just wondering how many have such a strategy which leads to investment choice or are there other drivers that lead to the selection process?

:beer:

Linton

jonj123 wrote: »

OK in that case I will change the IP fund to IP Income/High Income if it's likely to do better.



I didn't know there was a difference between the two lol. The countries and sectors they invest in seems to be identical so which shall I choose?

I am also a bit unsure about BlackRock Gold & General Income fund. It seems to have had a bad time recently but I'm hoping it will pick up.

Inv Perp High Income has much the same holdings as the distribution fund. The Income fund seems to be equity based. But as I said earlier the type of bonds these funds invest in arent the ones which have reached unusually high prices over the past few years, so I dont see much reason for selling your current fund.

The Black Rock fund is heavily into gold miners. The value of gold has fallen significantly in the past few months. Personally I dont see gold as an investment, more a safety play in very troubled times. Whether you want to invest in gold is a decision you need to make before you buy a fund like BR Gold & General. My view is that a fund 75% invested in one commodity is far too specialised for a small portfolio.

Jegersmart

Investing in gold is NOT the same as investing in equities related to gold mines and the like.......please do not make this mistake

J

jonj123

Having taken all the advice my list is now as follows:

1) Invesco Perpetual High Income Accumulation
2) aberdeen asia pacific accumulation
3) Troy Trojan Income Fund Class I Income
4) glg technology equity accumulation
5) First State Global Listed Infrastructure Accumulation

I'm just a bit concerned about the overlap between numbers 1, 3 and 5. I'm not sure if for my relatively small portfolio there overlap is significant though.

Jegersmart

srcandas wrote: »

Something I find curious - in general and not specifically aimed at you jonj - is one often sees lists of funds but almost never a strategy statement.

I'll give an example:

I think the global economy could be in for a bad crash, but not total destruction(30% chance).
I feel the far east will drive the recovery as dependance on Europe and the US diminishes.
I feel the increasing populations moving out of poverty will demand manufactured goods and there will be increased demand for natural resources.
I feel equities will be topsy turvy for sometime and therefore fundwise I will be bond heavy and look to make quick profits wave riding individual shares.

Totally ignoring if that is a good, average, bad or terrible strategy my investments in funds and share pool reflect that.

Just wondering how many have such a strategy which leads to investment choice or are there other drivers that lead to the selection process?

:beer:

Just a final point from me on this. Whether the above statements are correct or not please consider that stock markets generally work ahead of time and will overshoot (pricewise) in both directions. It is important to consider this because it may be that the markets have already priced in a 50% increase in demand over the next 2-3 years or who knows what else so whilst you may be right the price action does not follow.......I would do some work in looking at raw material prices and correlate with equities if thats what you are investing in - with a fundamentals background so you can try to judge whether you want to enter now or later.....otherwise you might as well just throw some darts onto a board with the top funds names on and just pick whatever you hit...:)

imho

J

ColdIron

3) Troy Trojan Income Fund Class I Income

Most funds come in an Acc/Accumulation or Inc/Income flavour and at your age you almost certainly want the Accumulation version for capital growth rather than a few pounds in cash every now and then

jonj123

ColdIron wrote: »

3) Troy Trojan Income Fund Class I Income

Most funds come in an Acc/Accumulation or Inc/Income flavour and at your age you almost certainly want the Accumulation version for capital growth rather than a few pounds in cash every now and then

The holdings for these two funds appear to be identical but I'll take your advice into account and choose the accumulation fund instead. The only thing I'm still concerned with is whether there is too much overlap between the my selected funds.

srcandas

Jegersmart wrote: »

Just a final point from me on this. Whether the above statements are correct or not .........
J

But my point is any strategy will give meaning to fund selection. If you have no strategy then your dart throwing approach might offer an alternative route

Despite your critique of a strategy is not some strategy better than nothing at all?

---

ps. jonj why do you care if there is an overlap ? If you took an alternative route and bought shares in 300 companies are you saying all holdings should be of equal value? And if one of your chosen funds has a heavy allocation in one company is that not exactly the same result as an overlap of two medium holdings?

grey_gym_sock

well, one response to uncertainty is to hedge one's bets by buying a global tracker. that's a kind of strategy for ppl who don't believe in strategies.

Totton

Assuming you are going equal amounts per fund - Your largest overlap appears to be with IP High Income and Troy Trojan where each hold several of the same stock. However usual case here is that IP has a large holding and Troy a much smaller one, hence I doubt overlap is an issue that should concern.

Your top underlying holdings appear to be,

Apple, Technology United States 1.96%
GSK, Healthcare United Kingdom 1.85%
ARM, Technology United Kingdom 1.81%
BAT, Consumer United Kingdom 1.73%
AstraZen, Healthcare United Kingdom 1.65%
Reynolds, Consumer United States 1.57%
UK Gilt, United Kingdom 1.48%
Mail.ru, Technology Russian Fed 1.46%
ETFS Gold, ETC Jersey 1.34%

You are about 33% UK, 13% Europe, 25% US,and 28% Far East with very little emerging markets.

Overall it is not a portfolio for me but age, risk appetite, growth or income etc all lead us to hold different portfolios. However I don't really get the mix of income and growth unless you need the income, I'd also prefer to hold Troy Trojan or Capital rather than Troy Income, IP Income is a decent if expensive fund but the thought is that income bearing funds may be in a bubble right now as investors chase income and push up values.

Good luck with the investing,
Mickey